Mapping the Supply Chain MKT 421
Mapping the Supply Chain
MKT/421
Mapping the Supply Chain
Corrugated cardboard boxes are one of the main packaging materials used in production around the world. From the single wall tiny boxes used to protect fine jewelry inside larger shipping containers to the massive triple wall, multi-piece boxes used for industrial shipping, corrugated boxes have become a necessity in a world with increasing national and international trade. Corrugated boxes are lighter than wooden crates, provide more rigidity than material sacks or flimsy plastic bags and can combine with materials such as bubble wrap or Styrofoam packing materials to protect delicate or valuable items.
Manufacturing
The first cardboard box was produced somewhere in England around 1817 (Hook, n.d.). From that time, cardboard box manufacturers have added specialty sizes and configurations, fiber strands for strength, custom inserts and easy opening closures. The manufacturing process starts in the forest with trees that are felled to create wood pulp which is ground, pressed, rolled and heated into sheets of cardboard paper. A machine creates the flutes which are the middle material between two flat sheets of paperboard. This gives a layer of cushioning between the sheets and also adds strength to the walls of the box. Some boxes use two layers of flutes sandwiched between with three layers of flat paperboard which are called double wall boxes. The next step up is triple wall which uses three layers of flutes between four layers of paperboard.
The next step after the materials are gathered is to look at the box orders to see what sizes are being ordered by the distributor. Most manufacturers have a set group of boxes that they produce at all times. Specialty boxes, for such products as wine, flowers or musical instruments, usually require a large order and test boxes to see if the desired size is easily produced with their machinery and if it can stand up to shipping or storage needs of
MKT/421
Mapping the Supply Chain
Corrugated cardboard boxes are one of the main packaging materials used in production around the world. From the single wall tiny boxes used to protect fine jewelry inside larger shipping containers to the massive triple wall, multi-piece boxes used for industrial shipping, corrugated boxes have become a necessity in a world with increasing national and international trade. Corrugated boxes are lighter than wooden crates, provide more rigidity than material sacks or flimsy plastic bags and can combine with materials such as bubble wrap or Styrofoam packing materials to protect delicate or valuable items.
Manufacturing
The first cardboard box was produced somewhere in England around 1817 (Hook, n.d.). From that time, cardboard box manufacturers have added specialty sizes and configurations, fiber strands for strength, custom inserts and easy opening closures. The manufacturing process starts in the forest with trees that are felled to create wood pulp which is ground, pressed, rolled and heated into sheets of cardboard paper. A machine creates the flutes which are the middle material between two flat sheets of paperboard. This gives a layer of cushioning between the sheets and also adds strength to the walls of the box. Some boxes use two layers of flutes sandwiched between with three layers of flat paperboard which are called double wall boxes. The next step up is triple wall which uses three layers of flutes between four layers of paperboard.
The next step after the materials are gathered is to look at the box orders to see what sizes are being ordered by the distributor. Most manufacturers have a set group of boxes that they produce at all times. Specialty boxes, for such products as wine, flowers or musical instruments, usually require a large order and test boxes to see if the desired size is easily produced with their machinery and if it can stand up to shipping or storage needs of
References: Corrugate Containers, Inc. (2014). Boxes. Retrieved from http://www.corrugatedcontainers.com/Items.aspx?cat=15 Discovery Channel (2010, May 1). How it 's made cardboard boxes [Video file]. Retrieved from Youtube website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i3riKvCYkM Hook, P. (n.d.). A History of Packaging. Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0133.html .